Category: inquests

‘In R (Maughan) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire v The Chief Coroner for England Wales [2019] EWCA Civ 809, the Court of Appeal conclusively held that the standard for proof for both short form and narrative conclusions concerning suicide was the civil balance of probabilities test, rather than the criminal beyond reasonable doubt.’

‘The Ministry of Justice spent £4.2m representing prison officers at inquests, while paying out only £92,000 in legal aid for bereaved families at hearings that examine deaths in prison, according to newly released figures.’

‘The family of a man who died after being restrained face down by officers has accused police of being “arrogant and evasive”, after an inquest jury found that Sussex police’s neglect contributed to his death.’

‘The Divisional Court in R (Chidlow) v HM Senior Coroner for Blackpool [2019] EWHC 581 has given a concise and authoritative judgment reiterating and summarising the current common law concerning causation in inquests. Given the ever increasing importance of inquests and their conclusions as preliminaries to civil litigation, as well the growing number of inquests being held into historical deaths, the judgment will doubtless be frequently cited over the coming months and years.’

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